Case Study
Catalina Takes their AP Processes to Touchless
Introduction
Catalina is a leading digital media company that provides personalized coupons to supermarkets and retailers, enabling them to increase sales and build customer loyalty. Technology is at the very heart of Catalina's operations and services, playing a crucial role in every aspect of the company's success. Catalina used to manage its accounts payable (AP) process manually, with spreadsheets, manual entry, and physical attachments to invoices. However, this process was not efficient, and the company needed to find a solution to automate its AP workflow.
Solution
After an extensive three-company evaluation, Catalina opted to streamline its AP process with the innovative Ascend Software in 2013. Ascend's innovative optical character recognition solutions and workflow tools have been designed to assist medium and large-scale enterprises in automating their accounts payable processes. In comparison to other options, Ascend proved to be the most user-friendly and seamlessly integrated with Catalina's ERP. The automated line coding and touch-free mail extraction capabilities of Ascend streamlined Catalina's accounts payable process, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced errors.
"Thanks to Ascend, we’ll be as touch-free as possible."
- Tony Lutz, Senior Director of Shared Services at Catalina
Benefits
Since implementing Ascend, Catalina has significantly streamlined its AP process. The company no longer relies on manual processes, and invoices are automatically scanned, matched with purchase orders, and locked for coding and approval. This process is more efficient, saves time, and reduces the risk of errors.
As Catalina expanded its operations across multiple continents, from the U.S. to France, Italy, the U.K., and Japan, it needed a cloud service that could scale with its growth. The company migrated from Lawson to Workday, and Ascend's seamless integration with both systems was a significant selling point. Thanks to Ascend's automation, Catalina can now operate with agility and efficiency, without compromising on quality.
Conclusion
Thanks to Ascend, Catalina has successfully automated its AP process and eliminated manual processes. The company has significantly improved efficiency, saved time, and reduced errors. Ascend's ability to integrate with both Lawson and Workday has allowed Catalina to streamline its AP process across multiple continents, making it a valuable partner for the company.